. every one of us who makes films struggles with that. the system demands success. it rewards it, but punishes failure as well. annenberg media ♪ and: with additional funding from these foundations and individuals: and by: and the annual financial support of: hello, i'm john lithgow. welcome to "american cinema." during the golden age of hollywood, the film studios became incredibly powerful. they controlled production, distribution and exhibitio the mass pduction system that made ford motors a success worked for the lm studios as well. a very efficient assembly line was built that enabled a studio to release a film a week. adventures, comedies, romances, westerns, gangsters, musicals. ford was famous for one model; thstudios had many. but the genius of the system was although they were factories,s. individual artists were still able to pursue their vision and create some of the best pictures ever made. take paramountictures, for example. it was home to billy wder, josef von sternberg, and ernest lubitsch, great artists who left their individual stamp on the films they made. th